Take Control of iPad Networking & Security

Learn more about iPad networking, and keep your passwords and data safe!

This ebook is no longer for sale.

More Info

Inside, you’ll find advice and steps for how to:

Use an iPhone’s personal hotspot to connect any iPad to the Internet.

Connect to a Wi-Fi network at work, home, or when at a public hotspot.

Tweak a Wi-Fi network to give your iPad a faster connection.

Connect to Wi-Fi using secure connections—learn about the security pros and cons of MAC address filtering, WEP, WPA, WPA2, and VPNs.

Enable and manage a 3G data plan. This topic focuses on AT&T and Verizon Wireless in the United States, but it also takes a global perspective, with brief details about some data plans outside the United States and what to consider when traveling to a different country.

Save on your data plan by monitoring your 3G usage.

Connect to Bluetooth peripherals such as keyboards and headsets, and do tethering and peer-to-peer pairing.

Understand what’s at risk and protect the private passwords, documents, and data stored on your iPad.

Take preventative action against a lost or stolen iPad by installing third-party remote-tracking software and turning on Apple’s Find My iPhone.

Use Find My iPhone if your iPad is lost or stolen.

What's New

What’s New in Version 1.3

Improvements in iOS with the release of 4.3 have been folded into this version. This includes network-related features, such as:

Apple has released Verizon Wireless versions of the iPad 2 that use Verizon’s less-common cellular network standard, CDMA. Information related to Verizon’s network has been added and updated throughout the book.

Service plan information for prepaid and postpaid plans for AT&T and Verizon Wireless has been altered.

“Alternatives to iPad Data Plans,” a topic that discusses alternatives to using a 3G network for iPad access, has been dramatically simplified due to improvements in using phones as mobile hotspots, and the addition of Bluetooth tethering to the iPad.

The “Set Up Bluetooth” chapter was updated to explain how and why to use Bluetooth tethering with an iPad to gain access to the Internet through a phone, laptop, or router.

Beyond the Verizon-related changes noted above, no changes were necessary for the iPad 2, which has minor hardware differences from the original iPad, but otherwise functions the same from the network and security standpoint.

I also removed two chapters on apps for remote access and document access because of the rapid changes in apps in those categories and because of an apparent lack of general interest on the part of readers. Most of the former “Access Documents” chapter is covered in Take Control of Working with Your iPad.

The EPUB-formatted file for this new version was created using Take Control’s in-house procedure, instead of outsourcing it, as we’ve done previously. The new look is now much closer to the usual Take Control styling. (The EPUB is available for download from your Take Control Ebooks account, after purchase.)

Update Plans

March 4, 2015 – We won’t be updating this book again due to the effort of matching pace with new versions of iOS. However, Glenn has written a new book that covers much the same ground for iOS 8, and although it’s not a Take Control book, you can purchase it at a discount through the Take Control cart — check out the special offer below.

Until last week, the iPad line-up consisted of three basic models: the original iPad, the iPad 2, and the 3rd-generation iPad.

Last week, Apple announced two new iPad models: the 4th-generation iPad and the iPad mini. Now, the line-up looks like this:

Original iPad: Still a nice iPad, but it was discontinued even before last week.

iPad 2: The oldest iPad still on the market.

3rd-generation iPad: This rather nice iPad was discontinued last week.

4th-generation iPad: Like the 3rd-generation iPad, this new iPad has an exceptionally crisp Retina display. It also has a faster processing chip for overall speedier operations, a slightly different Wi-Fi radio for potentially faster network connections, and a few other hardware improvements.

iPad mini: This entirely new iPad comes in a slightly smaller size, and with a lower price tag.

On April 20, 2011, researchers Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden announced that they had discovered a file within iOS, consolidated.db, that seemingly tracked every single location that an iOS device has ever visited. Furthermore, this file was not encrypted and was backed up each time the iOS device synced with iTunes to a user’s computer, making the file available on the syncing computer as well as on the device. Although the file was actually known about for quite some time, a media firestorm erupted following the announcement, with many articles speculating that Apple was tracking users’ every move for unknown, but probably nefarious reasons, and which led to several requests by Congressional representatives for Apple to explain the purpose behind collecting the information.

Apple responded within a week with a press release explaining what the consolidated.db file was, and why it was storing as much information as it seemed to be storing (see this TidBITS article, “Apple Addresses Location Controversy Questions,” 27 April 2011, for details on that press release). In a nutshell, Apple claimed that a bug was the reason that the file contained so much information, that the file was designed merely to help the iOS device’s Location Services feature establish location more easily, that it actually contained information about nearby Wi-Fi access points and cell towers rather than the device’s actual location, that no user-identifiable information was being sent back to Apple, and that a forthcoming release of iOS would address the bug and keep the file from being backed up to users’ computers.

On May 4, Apple released two updates to iOS that address the problem. One, iOS 4.3.3, updates all GSM iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 models, iPad and iPad 2 devices, and third and fourth generation iPod touch devices. The other, iOS 4.2.8, updates all CDMA iPhone 4s (see the TidBITS article, “iOS 4.3.3 and 4.2.8,” 4 May 2011). Updated devices now will store only a week’s worth of location information, and that information will not be backed up when the device syncs with iTunes. Furthermore, the location information cached by devices is erased whenever users disable Location Services.

Glenn Fleishman is a veteran technology writer who has contributed to dozens of publications across his career, including Macworld, the New York Times, Wired, the Atlantic, and the Economist. He has also written dozens of editions of books in the Take Control series. Glenn lives in Seattle with his wife and two children.

WANT TO SAVE 30%? PUT THREE OR MORE BOOKS IN YOUR CART!

Click the Buy button for each, notice the CPN90603BYOB coupon in the cart, and then click Check Out.